GURUGRAM: Rescuers, having failed to snare the rare, endangered that was spotted at by birders with a ring from a plastic bottle entangled around its beak last Thursday, have on Monday decided to fetch a bamboo trap from Bihar for the rescue operation. Read Also:

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According to sources, the rescuers — authorities and birders — are facing several hurdles. There seems to be no nesting area of the bird, a male, as it’s yet to find a female partner. Also, the bird still has energy to fly up to a height of 100m. “It’s a matter of time. A team from (BNHS) is getting a trap. They might use glue to carry out the rescue operation. However, as it’s a big bird, its energy levels are high and it’s still flying. Also, it’s not nesting as it may not have found a partner. That’s why there’s no permanent spot for us to target,” Vinod Kumar, additional principal chief conservator of forest told TOI.

When asked why drones are not being used to trace the bird, Kumar said, “Drones can be risky as the bird can still fly. Also, noise caused by drones can drive away the bird. We’ve to wait for it to get a little weak before it can be rescued.”

“Black-necked Storks generally eats fish, frogs, snakes or small birds. This means the bird has not managed to eat for days. However, we’ve spotted it drinking water. Now it can die of starvation, but not dehydration. We think it can survive for at least 5-6 days,” said Pankaj Kumar of Delhi Bird Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO that filed a petition in the NGT against construction of C&D waste treatment plant at Basai by MCG.

Others feared the bird will starve to death if the plastic ring is not removed within 24 hours. “The bird has already been starving for five days. It might die as flying is exhausting. Hopefully, it’ll be rescued on Tuesday,” said wildlife enthusiast Anil Gandas.

Meanwhile, on Monday evening, clearing Basai wetland of plastic waste started on Monday evening, after environment minister Vipul Goel took stock and asked officials to take immediate action.

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